Jon Kaase Racing EnginesJon Kaase is considered one of the best minds in the world of Big Block Fords and has created many parts to help enthusiasts with their 460 based projects. Gentlemen start your questions…

Actually I know of several reasons, #1 is a smaller crank throw has a lower bearing speed as the distance arround the crank is shorter, #2 is the 2.2 is just a more common size with a lot more bearing selection available, and the more compact the big end of the rod is the more room in the crank case or actually block to clear things like the pistons, bottom of the cylinder bore and camshaft. The one thing I dont like is that most of the 6.7 and 6.8 rods have the bbc off set. Its unnessary for the Ford.

Why do 429/460 stroker cranks use Chevy rods and why do the 6.7-6.8" rods available only come with 2.2" Chevy journals? I don't really want to have Chevy anything in my engine,

The use of the 2.200" rod journal has absolutely zero to do with being a chevy, and you don't need to have anything chevy in your engine if that really bothers you for some reason.

The original reason for using the 2.200" rod journal comes from the old days when creating a stroker crankshaft for the Ford 460 meant taking the OEM 460 crank and offset stroking the rod journals. Simply put, offset stroking the rod journals dictates that the journal diameter be smaller...but the Ford crankshaft is still a Ford crankshaft through-and-through.

Choosing a journal diameter is held to readily available rod bearing options, and this may be most anything that is smaller than the OEM Ford's 2.500" journal, such as using bearings available for the big block Mopar (2.375"), using bearings that could be used in the big block chevy (2.200"), using bearings that could be used in the small block chevy (2.100"), a Pontiac (2.250"), a Ford 6-cylinder (2.122"), and so forth. People have used even smaller bearings from a Honda. Anything goes, this is custom hot rodding.

Ford 460 enthusiasts are very fortunate to have a 2.500" rod journal which alows us to set journal diameter pretty much wherever we want it, more than other enthusiasts dedicated to most any other V8 engine manufacturer.

Paul

We're On The Web; Click Below:High Flow DynamicsPerformance Components for the 429/460 Engine Family

...my dad...said he's seen a few offset ground 460 cranks crack after being used with the 2.2" journal.

There are a good number of people who feel that the 4.14" offset stroked OEM 460 crankshaft is superior in overall strength to the Scat cast steel crankshaft of the same dimensions. I myself have a preference for the 460 crankshaft. I am aware of OEM Ford crankshafts, with 2.200" rod journals, that ran regulary at 9000+ rpm and occassional blipped past 10,000 rpm. I also know people who have used stock stroke 460 crankshafts in engines that pushed the cars past 180 mph in the quarter-mile (one of those people is doing this today); think about how much horsepower that requires and ask yourself if you'd trust a cast Scat crank in such an application.

Paul

We're On The Web; Click Below:High Flow DynamicsPerformance Components for the 429/460 Engine Family

Yeah, it would probably be better to use the 2.2" anyway. Although the reason I'm hesitant to use them is that my dad, an ASE certified master mechanic, said he's seen a few offset ground 460 cranks crack after being used with the 2.2" journal. I think this probably would have something to do with it being a cast factory crank, but it scared me away from the Chevy journals.

I was told that the Ford Cranks are Nodular Iron and non twisted and much stronger than most Steel Cranks.